St. Landry democrat., 1887-10-08

derstand more of the wonders of the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who,
though He was rich, yet for your sakes
became poor"
Yes, grace, free grace, sovereign grace,
omnipotent grace. Among the thou
sands of words in. the language there is
no more queenly word. 1t means free
and unmerited kindness. My text has
no monopoly of the word. One thou
sand and twenty-nine times does the
Bible eulogize grace. 1t is door swung
wide open to let into the pardon of God
all the millions who choose to enter it.
John Newton sang of it when he wrote:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved wretch like me.
Phillip Doddridge putt into all hymn
ology when he wrote:
Grace, It's charming sound,
Harmonious to the ear;
Heaven with the echo shall resound,
And all the world shall hear.
One of John Bunyan's great books is
entitled "Abounding Grace 1T is all
of grace that | am saved, has been on the
lips of hundreds of dying Christians,
The boy Sammy was right when, being
examined for admission into church men,
bership, he was asked: "Whose work was
your salvation?' and he answered: Part
mine and part Gods" Then the
examiner asked: "What part did you do,
Sammy" and the answer was: Il OPP
posed God all l could, and he did the
rest" o, the height Of 1t, the depth of
it, the length of it, the breadth of it, the
grace of Cod Mr.. Fletcher having writ
ten pamphlet that pleased the King, the
King offered to compensate him, and
Fletcher answered: There is only one
thing | want and that is more grace
Yes, my bloodbought hearers, grace
to live by and grace to die by. Grace
that saved the publican, that saved
Lydia, that saved the dying thief,
that saved the jailer, that saved
me- But the riches of that grace
will not be fully understood until
Heaven breaks in upon the soul. An old
Scotchman, who had been a soldier in
one of the European wars, was sick and
diving in one of our American hospitals.
His one desire was. to see Scotland and
his old home, and once again walk the
heather or the Highlands, and hear the
bagpipes of the Scotch regiments. The
night that the old Scotch soldier died,
Young man, somewhat reckless but kind
hearted, got a company of musicians to
come and play under the old soldiers
window, and among the instruments there
was a bagpipe The instant that the
musician began the dying old man in de
lirium said: Whats that, what's that ::
Why it's the regiment coming home.
That's the tune, yes, that's the tune.
Thank God, | have got home once more
"Bonny Scotland and Bonny Doom, were
the last words he uttered as he passed up
to the Highlands of the better country.
And there are here to-day hum
dreds homesck for Heaven, some because
you have so many bereavements, some
because YOU have so many temptations,
some because you have so many ailments,
homesick, very homesick, for the father
land of Heaven, and the music that you
want to hear now is the song of free
grace, and the music you want to hear
when you die is free grace, and forever
before the throne of God you will sing
of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who though He was rich, for your sakes
became poor!'
Yes, yes; for your sakes! 1t was not
on pleasure excursion that He came, for
it was all pain. 1t was not on astro-
nomical exploration, for He knew this
world as we'll before He alighted as
afterward. It was not because He was
compelled to come, for He volunteered.
1t was not because it was easy, for He
knew that it would be thorn, and spike,
and hunger, and thirst, and vociferation
of angry mobs. For your sakes! Wipe
away your tears. To forgive your wrong
doing, to companionship your loneliness,
to soothe your sorrows, to sit with
you by the new-made grave, to
bind up your wounds in the ugly
battle with the world and bring you
home at last, kindling up the mists that
fall on your dying vision with the sun
light of glorious morn. For your
sakes! No; I will change that. Paul
will not care, and Christ will not care II
I change it, for l must get into the bless
edness of the text myself, and so | say:
'For our sakesw For we all have our
temptations, and bereavements, and con-
flicts. For our sakes We who deserve
for our sins to be expatriated into a
world as much poorer than this than this
earth was poorer than Heaven. For our
sakes
But what fruitful coming down to
take us gloriously up! When Artaxerxes
was hunting, Tirebazus, who was attend
ing him, showed the King rent in his
garment. The King said: "How shall |
mend it?" "By giving it to me" said
Tirebazus. Then the King gave him the
robe, but commanded him never to
wear it, as it would be inappropri-
ate. See the startling and COM
forting fact, while our Prince throws
off the habit he not only allows us
to wear it, but commands us to wear it,
and it will become us we'll, and for the
poverties of our spiritual state we may
put on the splendors of heavenly regale-
ment. For our sakes! D, the personality
of this religion! Not an abstraction,
not an arch under which we walk to be-
hold elaborate masonry, not an ice-castle
like that which Empress Elizabeth of
Russia over a hundred years ago ordered
constructed, winter with its trowel of rys-
tai cementing the huge blocks that had
been quarried from the frozen rivers of
the North, but fathers house with
wide hearth cracking hearty welcome.
A religion of warmth and inspiration,
and light, and cheer, something we can